Recipe: Apple and Cranberry Studded Stuffing with Sausage + FN Virtual Thanksgiving

Most days, the Internet is a wonderful place – A place filled with mousy-voiced seashells, disturbing-to-the-core Man Babies, and the most hilariously guilt-inducing YouTube video of all time. (It’s okay if you laugh, really.)

But today? Today the Internet is DOUBLY wonderful. That’s right, I said doubly.

Because today, Food Network is hosting a Virtual Thanksgiving. Which, in my humble opinion, is really just an excuse to gorge on holiday favorites 8 days before the rest of the general population. All while wearing dingy sweats and watching – what else? – Food Network.

In deciding what to bring to the digital table this week, I contemplated which of our family’s Thanksgiving staples I couldn’t go without. I really, truly wanted to post something that was inherently gluten free, but let’s be real. In no world will string beans eclipse the starchy, comforting goodness that is Thanksgiving stuffing.

This recipe has been in my family for as long as my dad’s been suggestively arranging the turkey pieces. So long, in fact, that my mom still references the same cranberry-stained, note-ridden Epicurious printout year after year.

If you can fight the tryptophan haze enough to assemble a fork-full of cranberry, apple and sausage, you’ll realize why we’ve been coming back to this recipe. It hits all the traditional savory notes of a great stuffing, with a tart punch of cranberry and a subtle sweetness from the apple.

Have a very Happy Virtual Thanksgiving, friends and fellow Internet lovers!

Note: If you cut up a loaf of cornbread instead of using the herbed stuffing mix, double the amount of poultry seasoning and sage called for. 

[Original recipe from Epicurious/Bon Appétit]

Ingredients (Serves 12-16)

1 lb pork sausage, removed from casing (all one flavor, or combo of sweet and spicy)

2 cups chopped yellow or white onion (about 1 large onion)

2 cups chopped celery

5 cups cubed whole grain gluten free bread (crust removed; 1 loaf Udi’s bread)

5 cups gluten free herbed cornbread stuffing mix (1 12 oz bag)

2 apples, cubed (peel on; about 2.5 cups)

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp dried sage

½ tsp black pepper

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (gluten free)

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9” glass baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.

Place cubed bread (from the loaf, not the stuffing mix) on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 or so minutes, until the cubes of bread are dried out and crisp but not browned. 

Place a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, place sausage in pan and begin to break apart with a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for about 5 minutes, continuing to break up with the spoon. Once the sausage has released some of its fat, add the onion and celery. Cook for another 10-12 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the sausage is completely browned. Remove from heat. If there is excess fat (enough to pool in the corner if you tip the pan), pour it off.

If you’re using a big enough pot, you can do the rest of the mixing right in there. If not, scrape the sausage and veggies into a very large bowl.

To the sausage and veggies, add the bread cubes, apples, cranberries, poultry seasoning, dried sage and pepper. Very gently, toss all of the ingredients together so they’re evenly distributed.

Then, add the broth one cup at a time. Pour each cup slowly over the stuffing until it’s absorbed, then gently toss.

Once all of the broth is incorporated, scrape the stuffing into the greased baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the top of the stuffing is lightly browned and crisp.

Serve warm. 

Other Virtual Thanksgiving Contributions:

Cocktails, Appetizers, Soups and Salads:

Eat Be Mary: She's Mulling It Over Wine

Cookistry: Bread With Ancient Grains

Celebrity Chefs and Their Gardens: The American Hotel Peconic Clam Chowder

Picky Eater Blog: Butternut Squash Soup With Thyme and Parmesan

Good Food Good Friends: Mushroom Soup

Mains:

Examiner.com: Grilled Quail with a Warm Beet, Frisée, and Pistachio Salad

She Wears Many Hats: Mayonnaise Roasted Turkey

Sides:

Living Mostly Meatless: Vegan-Friendly Corn Casserole

Healthy Green Kitchen: Red Kuri Squash Pie

The Naptime Chef: Crispy Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes

Gluten-Free Blondie: Apple and Cranberry Studded Stuffing

Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat: Blue Cheese and Rosemary Celebration Potatoes

Burnt Lumpia: Turkey, Sweet Potato and Cranberry Empanadas

Panfusine: Pan Fried Polenta Seasoned With Cumin, Ginger & Black Pepper

Homemade Cravings: Warm Brussels Sprouts and Cranberry Slaw

Bakeaholic Mama: Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Crispy Prosciutto

Show Food Chef: Beer-Braised Brussels Sprouts

T's Tasty Bits: Sweet Empanadas with Pumpkin and Lupini Beans Filling

The Amused Bouche Blog: Braised Kale

The Little Kitchen: How to Make the Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Desserts:

The Macaron Queen: Macaron Tower

Poet In The Pantry: Amaretto Apple Crisp

Farm Girl Gourmet: Pumpkin Coconut Panna Cotta

That's Forking Good: Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Blondies

Out of the Box Food: Out of the Box Food Maple Pumpkin Pie

Cake Baker 35: Orange Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Lisa Michele: Pumpkin, Pecan, Cheesecake Pie

Food For My Family: Buttermilk Custard Pear Pie

Simple Bites: Black-Bottom Maple Pumpkin Pie

A Cooks Nook: Swedish Apple Pie

Yakima Herald: Pretzel Jell-O Salad

How Does She: Three of Our Favorite Desserts

Dollhouse Bake Shoppe: Thanksgiving Candy Bar Name Plates

Sweet Fry: Pumpkin Latte

Tasty Trials: Spiced Apple Panna Cotta With Caramelized Apples and Caramel Sauce

An Uneducated Palate: Puff Pastry Apple Tart

Frugal Front Porch: Mini Cheaty Cheesecakes

Even more:

Kitchen Courses: Thanksgiving for Six People Under $60

A Curious Palate: The Communal Table

Recipe: Prosciutto-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Gorgonzola

If you’ve never tried dried dates, I don’t blame you. These suckers are ugly. (I’ll omit all of the unappetizing things my family compared their likeness too, but you’ve got an imagination.)

That being said – Once you get over the fact that they resemble a 6-legged creature that should be skittering across your kitchen floor, and stuff them with cheese and wrap them in the greatest of all pork products, they are damn good.

The harmony created by the sweetness of the date, the tang of the blue cheese, and the saltiness of the prosciutto will ensure that these are the first appetizers to be gobbled up at your next gathering. But since there’s no measuring involved and just 3 ingredients, it’s just as easy to pop 6 or 7 of these warm, savory little bites in the oven while you’re waiting for dinner to finish cooking.

Note: There’s quite a bit of debate over whether blue cheese is 100% gluten free or not. I’ve found that it doesn’t bother me so I eat it on occasion, but if you’re more sensitive you can go ahead and substitute goat cheese.

Ingredients (allot 3-4 dates per person)

Dried dates, preferably Medjool (can use smaller ones, they'll just be harder to stuff)

Blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort (can substitute goat cheese)

Prosciutto, cut into strips

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.

Using a paring knife, make a slit from the top of the date to about halfway down. Do not cut all the way through the other side of the fruit. Use your fingers to pull out the pit. Push a small chunk of cheese into the middle of the date, and pinch the opening back together (doesn’t have to close all the way). Wrap the date with a strip of prosciutto, and place on the foil-lined baking sheet.

Repeat the above process with as many dates as you please.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheese starts to ooze and prosciutto is crisp.

Serve warm. 

Recipe: Microwave Baked Apple

File this under: Recipes too Simple to Qualify as Recipes. Also in this category: guacamole, banana ice cream, and microwave popcorn.

I’m not the type of person who needs to cap off every meal with something sweet. In fact, I’d rather scour the cheese menu than the dessert menu, and a plate of nachos holds much more appeal than a plate of cookies. (Swear this is not a defense mechanism for coping with going gluten free. I think.)

But this revelation – the microwave baked apple – has me pretending to have a sweet tooth. Soup and salad for lunch? It would be wrong not to follow that with a baked apple. Roast chicken for dinner? Yup. Baked apple for dessert. 3 PM? Well, if I write a blog post I’ll just have to make a baked apple to photograph. And then I’ll have to eat it in the middle of the afternoon in between meal times.

I included measurements here, but don’t ruin the simplicity of this recipe by pulling out the measuring cups and spoons. Eyeball it. If you put in too much cinnamon or too little oats, it’ll still be good. Trust me.

Note: Olive oil may sound weird in something sweet, but you won’t taste it. It just adds some moisture for the oats without all the bad-for-you things in butter.

Ingredients (all measurements are approximate)

1 apple, cored and diced (skin on)

1/3 cup quick cooking oats (gluten free)

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp brown sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg (fresh or pre-ground)

Recipe

Toss all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 ½ minutes, stir, and then microwave for 1 ½ more minutes. Serve hot.